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- <text id=90TT0293>
- <title>
- Feb. 05, 1990: World Notes:East Germany
- </title>
- <history>
- TIME--The Weekly Newsmagazine--1990
- Feb. 05, 1990 Mandela:Free At Last?
- </history>
- <article>
- <source>Time Magazine</source>
- <hdr>
- WORLD, Page 47
- World Notes
- EAST GERMANY
- New Leash On Life
- </hdr>
- <body>
- <p> Almost overlooked amid all the goings-on in East Germany was
- the matter of those 6,500 canines who for years gave paws, as
- it were, to would-be border jumpers. Now most of the dogs are
- out of work, so West Germany's Animal Protection Society is
- taking 2,500 for adoption. The society is already swamped with
- aspiring owners, who must pay about $50 to cover the cost of
- inoculations and veterinary exams.
- </p>
- <p> The society launched its rescue mission when it learned that
- the Grenzhunde might be sold to buyers in Spain or the U.S.
- Says society official Ulrich Karlowski: "In Spain the
- pharmaceutical industry was interested, and you know what that
- could mean." As for the Americans, he adds, "we were afraid
- that the dogs would be handled as souvenirs."
- </p>
- <p> To the chagrin of many East Germans, it turns out that no
- more than 1,000 of the dogs are really trained to attack, and
- the East Germans are keeping those; the rest are pussycats,
- decoys whose ominous presence once created fear among the
- civilian populace.
- </p>
-
- </body>
- </article>
- </text>
-
-